Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Red Georgia clay and white linoleum are not friends. My family learned this fact soon after moving to Newnan. The search for the best way to clean our kitchen floor was on. No matter what we used or how hard we worked it never came completely clean. Within two days no evidence remained that the effort had been made.

In a moment of genius my wife decided to use scrubbing linoleum squares as a way to develop discipline in our seven-year-old Benjamin. The number of squares assigned corresponds to the seriousness of his infraction. Oh, what a treacherous drudgery it seemed in the beginning. But he soon learned diligence got the job done. Sort of.

Ben shared our chagrin about the inadequate outcome of his work. Until . . . dah dah DAHHH! (Superman music) . . . Mom found MR. CLEAN MAGIC ERASER (MCME). Our days of tortuous scrubbing are over. A few wipes restores the floor’s sparkling brightness. It even seems to stay clean longer. We don’t know how it works, but we’re glad it does.

Having heard his mother’s enthusiastic description of the amazing power of the MCME, Ben was chomping at the bit to give it a try. Rebecca later overheard him giving his own testimony to the wonders of the Magic Eraser to an incredulous neighborhood pal. If only Procter & Gamble had THAT on video!

Our lives may seem like my kitchen floor. We know they ought to be clean and bright, but we inevitably find them muddied by sin. Nothing we try removes the stain. Like my family’s experiments with various cleaners some people seek fulfillment in careers, others through volunteer work. Sex is a seductive solution for some, while drugs offer the deceptive alternative of escape. Failure brings discouragement which often leads to depression and sometimes even suicide.

Even efforts to “be good” fall short. As Isaiah the prophet found, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Is. 64:6). The Apostle Paul says perceived racial, religious and moral “superiority” can’t remove the dirt (Phil. 3:4-8). These apparent advantages are worthless--Paul’s word is ‘excrement.’ Seeking our own solution creates an even bigger mess.

Seeing our helplessness God sent Jesus to clean us up. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Jesus unlocks the secret to moral stain removal. C.S. Lewis called this secret God’s “deep magic.” We can’t fully comprehend the how or why of Christ’s forgiveness, but when we realize how real and effective it is we’re thrilled to receive it. We want to share our discovery.

God urges us to accept his gift. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson [or clay], they shall be like wool” (Is. 1:18). The contrast of our filth and God’s cleansing is stark.

Consider Paul’s description: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. ... But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 3:3-6). We not only get clean we have the power to stay clean.

If you come to our house the floor will probably look dirty. Ben’s behavior is improving and, magical as MCME may be, its effects are temporary. And we can only afford it when it’s on sale and we have a coupon. Excitement about such mundane and temporary things as clean floors can’t begin to compare with what is offered in Jesus. His gift prepares us to stand before God “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27). Inexpressible joy is available for all who earnestly seek a life once and for all washed clean by the blood of Jesus.